This invention, a dual-drive, self-ratcheting mechanism, has numerous applications in consumer, medical and industrial products, while, a ratcheting screwdriver is the preferred item to serve as the exemplification of the advantages, that the mechanism provides. Conventional ratcheting screwdrivers, employ a single ratcheting mechanism, that is required to be intermittently-ratcheted between drives and therefore only ready-to-drive hardware 50% of the time, while the remaining 50% is time and effort, that is unproductively spent, ratcheting-up. Hence, a screwdriver, mechanized with a conventional single-ratcheting mechanism, is only 50% efficient. Whereas, a screwdriver, mechanized with the self-ratcheting system, eliminates the user's need to waste time and effort ratcheting between drives. The ratcheting occurs automatically within the mechanism, as reciprocating input-motion is applied, while the screwdriver is being operated.
The dual-drive self-ratcheting mechanism is comprised of driving elements, such as, but not limited to, a pair of a ratchet wheels and pawls, or a plurality of one-way roller-type clutches, or a plurality of two-way roller-type clutches. Solely for exemplification and simplicity, the included illustrations depict a proposed assembly procedure of a dual-drive self-ratcheting mechanism, that employs roller-type clutches.